I know people with last generation's 323i and they don't know a thing about cars or driving, they just want something that says BMW on it.

In Europe, I believe there are more BMW owners who buy for the drive, not the badge.

can't stand that. i always see people in a BMW like an M5 or something and think hey cool and look over at them. not even a nod. they just don't care. had one cool guy pull up and say BMW, yo! and give me peace sign.

can't stand that. i always see people in a BMW like an M5 or something and think hey cool and look over at them. not even a nod. they just don't care. had one cool guy pull up and say BMW, yo! and give me peace sign.

You can usually make some decently accurate assumptions at first glance.

Half the time I can say with quite a bit of confidence that the car they're driving probably has never and will never hit 100mph...which could be a good thing considering these are often the same folks who trade in the car every 2 years.....I'd gladly buy their barely-driven hand me down.

And I am aware that my opinion is maybe a little silly....but I can't help seeing it that way.

I know people with last generation's 323i and they don't know a thing about cars or driving, they just want something that says BMW on it. (they buy the cheapest cars they can buy with a BMW badge)

In Europe, I believe there are more BMW owners who buy for the drive, not the badge.(they buy a lower powered, and coincidentally the lowest price BMW, but are buying the vehicle for what it offers over competitors, not for the badge)

The E90 323i that was sold in Canada was not bad. Perhaps low on power compared to other brands on these shores but it had the jewel inline 6 and RWD. The types of customers that buy them is a separate issue.

The F30 320i that showed up here though, we turned down. Missing features on the first batch that showed up (combination of parts shortage and perhaps gaffes in the spec sheets).

The world is larger than any single country. Same for BMW, they try not to compromise certain markets in favour of other markets.
Tell u why there's a 320i (or even lower powered variants), cos there's demand! I'm not talking abt poseurs, I'm talking abt markets where import taxes are based on displacement & also sometimes engine output. Also there are many markets where laws do not allow diesel engined vehicles on the road or plainly the diesel is not good enough for BMW's famed diesel engines.

Petrol prices are slowly moving towards $10 per gallon here in Belgium and many other European countries... so keeping in mind that diesel costs less than petrol and that you can do more kilometers with the same amount of fuel, people choose diesel engines. More than 70% of all cars on the road here are diesel cars.
We even have a 316d with 116hp over here, there aren't many people that can afford a 335i with all the taxes and the high fuel prices.
You guys don't know how lucky you are.

To give a feel for why the smaller 318i or 320i petrol are the best (E90 3-series petrol) seller in the UK.

UK 2011 sales, reported in Diesel Car.

3-series: total sales 42,471 of which 32,895 were diesel
5-series: total sales 21,703 of which 20,665 were diesel
7-series: total sales 1,471 of which 1,379 were diesel
X3: total sales 5,100 of which 5,098 were diesel (just 2 were petrol)
X5: total sales 5,459 of which 5,363 were diesel

The bigger petrol engines are becoming rare motors in the UK. See how the luxury market in the 7-series is still dominated by the diesel engine.

We are virtually priced out of the petrol engines, on running costs, so only the smaller cars have a reasonable percentage of petrol motors, and small capacity engines at that.

Petrol prices are slowly moving towards $10 per gallon here in Belgium and many other European countries... so keeping in mind that diesel costs less than petrol and that you can do more kilometers with the same amount of fuel, people choose diesel engines.

Not only that, some countries such as UK levies annual road tax base on CO2 emissions. As diesel have lower CO2 emissions than equivalent petrol engined counterparts, it always makes financial sense to go diesel.